My Dragon Story
Someone please tell me if I'm doing this wrong... I'm new, so I have no clue what I'm doing. Ok so I'm going to post my story here! Prologue A river raged. The current dragged a small bundle under the water. It struggled to resurface, breathing in water instead of air. Finally it burst through to the surface, only to be sucked down again. It crashed against the rock walls surrounding the river. Its struggles grew weaker. Suddenly, a night black arm reached down in front of the object, bringing it to the surface and up to dry land. “What is it?” a voice said. “It’s… A baby dragon?” another voice said. The dragon squeaked pitifully, and opened its eyes at the black dragon. “He’ll never survive. Leave him.” The first voice said. “No, he will,” the black dragon said. “He will.” Chapter 1: Grass blew in the soft wind, as did the trees and leaves. In the warm sunlight, a figure stood on a knoll facing a swift flowing river. The figure’s scales glistened in the sunlight. A second figure approached with an anxious gait. The first figure turned and spoke. “We found you here, in this river. Fighting for your life,” the figure said. “You were so young. But one look into your eyes and I knew you were a fighter,” Turned fully, the second figure could see the now-familiar golden eyes and smooth, black scales of the dragon Moonwing. Muscular, thick legs that end in large, powerful claws make his appearance terrifying. He has three joints in his powerful wings, with pale wingskin. Large spines run down his back. His head is boxy but smooth, with a rectangular snout. Two white horns protrude from the back of his head. But his beautiful gold eyes are kind. As for the second dragon, his scales are cyan, with pearl white eyes. Thin but strong front legs with needlelike claws show he is truly a water dragon, as does his thin body. He has powerful back legs and a flowing tail. His head is ovoid and smooth, with two thin horns on the back. Spines run down his back, webskin running between them. “And now that you are older, I must ask you; will you join us?” Moonwing asked. The second dragon had known this moment would come. He had thought about it, wondered what would happen if he said yes or no. Now that the moment had finally come, he couldn’t think. Hoping that this momentary lack of judgement wouldn’t result in disaster, he answered; “Yes, I will,” Relief flashed in Moonwing’s eyes. He nodded. “Good. Also, Bluescale said to tell you that your name will be Riverwing,” he added. Moonwing motioned for Riverwing to follow him and took off, crossing the river in a few short wingbeats. Riverwing. I like it. He followed, easily flying in the wind. Looking below, he could see the knoll Moonwing had been on, and a raging river winding in front of the knoll. More grassy plains with trees scattered around sit opposite the knoll and river. Ahead of him were some snow-capped mountains. On his left was a large forest of redwoods. On his right were rolling plains, the river threading through them. Moonwing flew over the mountains, which enclosed a wide valley filled with water. Moonwing dove, Riverwing following. They dove toward the water directly in front of a large mountain with a tower poking out of it. As Riverwing swam, he could feel the ice cold water seeping between his scales, and reflected how good it felt to swim. He looked ahead, and could see Moonwing swimming into a cave. They surfaced in an octagonal cavern inside of the mountain. The cave was five wingspans long all around, and a wingspan and a half deep. The area where they entered was a tunnel with a circular ridge of stone; the water cast an eerie light on the roof. In each side of the cave was an entrance to a smaller cave. All the caves were big enough that a full-grown dragon could easily enter. In front of one was a pool of water as big as Riverwing, with a waterfall cascading from a small crevice at the top of the wall. The ground below was sandy, excepting the pool, which was encircled with stones and moss. Light spilled from holes in the roof. Moonwing motioned towards a cave to the left of the direction of which they entered. “This Is my den. It leads directly to a tower which protrudes from the mountain, where I like to sit and gaze at the night sky. Hence the name Moonwing,” he said. “Yes, he is… shall we say, interesting in that way,” a low and commanding voice said from behind them. Turning, Riverwing saw a large, river-blue dragon appearing from the waterfall cave, which was opposite them. He is, as aforementioned, large, with a big, smooth blue ovoid head and smooth, rectangular snout, with sharp teeth. His eyes are caramel, with a scar running down the right side of his face to just the bottom of the lower jaw, which as well is smooth. Long, scarred gray horns protrude from the back, sloping upward. His neck is long, with white spines running down it. Webbed skin runs between his spines. The bottom side of his neck, along with his lower jaw, chest and stomach, are cyan. His body is large and powerful, with thick (for a river dragon) and muscly legs. His claws are large, sharp, curved, and pearl-white. His wings are strong, with three wing fingers and cyan wingskin. His tail is long, with the bottom half being cyan as well. “Greetings, Bluescale,” Moonwing said, with a respectful dip of his head. “Hello, Moonwing. Is this our friend from the river?” asked Bluescale. “Yes, and I named him Riverwing, as you requested,” replied Moonwing. “Good. Riverwing, my name is Bluescale, and I am leader of the river dragons, River Guild. Welcome to RiverMountain. “Th-thank you,” stammered Riverwing. “We all inhabit these caves, as will you, soon enough,” Bluescale said, moving his gaze from cave to cave. Eyes began to glow in the darkness, and soon Riverwing could see dragons walking from all the caves. Their eyes glowed, and their faces ranged from curious to downright angry. Scales from white to dark blue seemed to merge in a river of color; yellow eyes glowed like lanterns in the half light. “Bluescale, when you said you were going to accept him, I thought you must be joking,” a light blue, almost white, scaled dragon said. “I mean, we’re perfectly fine as we are. What need have we for new dragons?” “You are right to be wary, Shellscale; but I solely wanted to see what this dragon, who has won the acceptance of Moonwing, can do.” Bluescale said, but this did little to calm the light blue dragon’s anger. Riverwing was shocked by the anger in Shellscale’s voice; surely any guildmate of kind, loyal Moonwing could not be so cruel? But, to Riverwing’s dismay, as he gazed at the dragons surrounding him, more and more of them had anger in their eyes. “Well, if Moonwing and Bluescale both agree, surely we should give him a chance..?” said a dragon, his light blue tail adorned with specks of darker blue, like rain falling. “I suppose,” said Shellscale eventually. One dragon in particular caught his eye; a beautiful dragon with scales the color of dawn was looking at him with enchanting green eyes. Like most water dragons, she has an ovoid head and webbed skin from her neck to her tail tip. She had three wing joints, and pale pink wing skin. Her horns curved toward the sky, and her claws were thin and sharp. She approached him less warily than the others, quickly greeting him. “Hi! I’m Dawn. You must be the drowned dragon!” Riverwing cast a confused glance at Moonwing. “Not here a day and you already have a nickname,” Moonwing said, a twinkle in his eye. “You’ve been given this, err, endearing nickname because of when you almost drowned, though.” “…Ah, ok then,” Riverwing replied. He shifted uncomfortably. “Well, hi, Dawn. My name’s actually Riverwing, in case you were wondering.” “All right, Riverwing. Want me to show you where you can make a nest?” “Sure,” Riverwing replied. Dawn turned around and threaded through the other dragons, throwing a glance over her shoulder, telling Riverwing to follow. Riverwing followed Dawn through the crowd, walking into a cave to the left of the entrance. An eerie light emanated from inside, and as Riverwing entered, he could see (something that glows) lighting the cave. The floor is stone, with dips here and there big enough for a dragon to sit in. There are piles of sand, which Riverwing assumed were nests. “If you’re wondering, those are the nests. We make nests by putting sand in those dips. Mine’s over here,” Dawn said, motioning to a nest at the far end of the cave. It has shells and other trinkets inside, which Dawn is looking at quite proudly. Next to Dawn’s nest is another, perfectly flat, nest. “You can have this one,” Dawn said. Riverwing smiled. “Where did you get those shells?” he asked. “From the river. I can show you later if you want,” said Dawn. “Sure!” Riverwing said as he settled into his nest. Once he had gotten the right shape into his nest, he got up and followed Dawn out of the cave, sand clinging to his scales. “So that cave was the cave for younger dragons like you and me. The caves where you sleep are based on your rank. Like, the caves closest to the entrance are for the best fighters, in case of attack. Our cave is third closest to the entrance,” Dawn said. “But what about the cave second closest? Is that Moonwing’s?” “Yep. But anyway, the second youngest dragons live in the cave to the right of ours. Next come the adult dragons, then the senior dragons. The Advisors, the dragons Bluescale speaks with about everything, live in the cave next to Bluescale’s which is at the back of the cave,” Dawn said, looking at the cave with the waterfall out front. Still writing, so skipping. “Riverwing, it’s time for battle practice,” Moonwing said. Riverwing walked over to where he was, at the entrance of the cave. He dove into the water, and Riverwing followed, feeling the water seep into what felt like his whole body. He closed his eyes, loving the feel of the water. Moonwing looked back, an amused look on his face. He swam over, and then back, to avoid getting hit by Riverwing, who was swimming and somersaulting away. Eventually, content but not tired, Riverwing swam back over to Moonwing. He led Riverwing to the surface, where they flew to the other side of the river valley, following a large stream threading between two large mountains. They emerged in an area not much smaller than the Sea Cave, with half of it being water and half of it being sand. “This is the Training Area,” Moonwing said. “All the River dragons come here to train.” Riverwing gazed at the mountains surrounding it, the stone walls scratched and cracked, presumably from many, many dragons training before him. “Here, come at me,” Moonwing said. Riverwing lunged, claws first, teeth bared, at Moonwing. Suddenly Moonwing turned and snapped his tail under Riverwing’s stomach, whipping him off course. He collapsed in front of Moonwing. “Try again.” Moonwing said, amused. Riverwing lunged again, this time prepared for Moonwing’s attack. As Moonwing swung his tail at him, River with quickly lifted his wings and dodged. Moonwing had had to turn to attack, so while his back was to Riverwing, he dove onto Moonwing’s back. Moonwing impulsively reared, easily throwing the younger dragon off. “Nice try,” Moonwing said. “If you can learn to hold on, you could really injure a dragon by slashing their wings.” “But that sounds horribly painful!” “It is. But if it is the only option, as for survival, then you must be prepared to do it,” Moonwing replied, his eyes clouded as if in memory. He quickly seemed to shake it off, and said, “Don’t forget about your tail. You can give someone a nasty slap and distract them if you have enough power, like I did. Here.” Moonwing walked over to a redwood trunk, raised his tail, and whipped it as hard has he could. “This is a redwood trunk, the strongest in the land. I used to strengthen my tail on it when I was young. Here, try it for a while.” Riverwing snapped his tail and hit the wood. Pain seared through his tail, and Riverwing staggered. “Don’t go so hard your first time. Work up to that,” Moonwing said. You don’t say.'' Riverwing thought. He tried again, gentler this time. It still'' stung, but not nearly as hard. Suddenly, Bluescale appeared through the entrance. He landed on the sand next to Moonwing. “Moonwing, come with me. I must discuss some things with you and the others.” Bluescale said. “Of course, Bluescale,” Moonwing replied. “Riverwing, keep training. I’ll be back as soon as I’m done.” With that, Moonwing and Bluescale flew off, leaving Riverwing alone. As the sun dipped below the mountains, Riverwing’s tail felt so sore and stiff he could hardly move it. Dawn raced toward him, happy as usual. “How was training?” Dawn asked. “Painful. Moonwing had me hitting this wood all afternoon,” Riverwing replied. “Ouch. I remember doing that. It feels better after a swim, though. Want to go?” Dawn said, bouncing on her claws. The prospect sounded good to Riverwing. “Sure!” He replied, taking off after Dawn. As they left the Training Area, Dawn veered left, towards a ledge poking out of the mountain, even with the water. Dawn and Riverwing landed on the ledge, which is five wingspans long, and wide enough for Riverwing to easily stand on. “This is one of the best places to fish, but it’s also a great place for a swim!” With that, she jumped in. Riverwing followed, relishing the icy water on his tail. It darkened as they dove deeper, but it was easy to discern Dawn’s bright scales, so Riverwing wasn’t lost. As they swam, Riverwing could see bubbles rising where fish were swimming away. I wonder if I should catch those… ''Dawn was swimming away, so Riverwing decided not to. It was practically pitch black, but Dawn kept going. Soon she stopped, looked around, and then turned left. She dipped into a small crevice, and Riverwing squeezed in with her. They emerged in a cave much like the Sea Cave, but a lot smaller. It was just big enough for Dawn and Riverwing to sit comfortably. “This is my secret cave. No one else knows about it except you and me!” Dawn said. “And my mother.” “Woah… Well, thank you for showing this to me,” Riverwing said. If it wasn’t so dark, Dawn would see him blushing. Suddenly, Dawn reached out with her claws and lifted a rock. Light flooded the room. Dawn lifted a glowing rock the size of her hand out of a small hole. She placed it in the middle of the cave. Riverwing could see the cave in its full glory now; a stone ledge to the right of him held odd shells and rocks. A small marble statue of a river dragon sat at the back of the cave. Riverwing walked the short distance over to it. “What is this?” he asked. “Oh, just an old heirloom my mother gave to me. I think it’s supposed to be my grandfather,” Dawn said. Riverwing nodded. “Interesting.” 'ENDED HERE AS IT WOULDN’T LET ME ADD MORE ON' BLOGCLAN IN THAT ONE POST. '“Yeah. I just like to come down here to be' alone sometimes.” Dawn said. “Well, we should probably get back.” She said, and they left the cave. Riverwing saw some more fish, and decided he should catch some for Dawn. He saw one as big as his head directly below him, and darted for the space in front of it, while whipping his tail to scare it ahead. It worked, and he caught and killed it. Dawn had already surfaced, and was sitting on the stone ledge when Riverwing emerged, the fish in his mouth. “Ooh! That’s a big one,” Dawn said. “Yeah! It’s for you,” Riverwing said, dropping the fish at her feet. Her eyes immediately softened, and a broad smile spread across her face. “Thank you, Riverwing,” she said nuzzling him gently. “Let’s share it.” She cut it in half, Riverwing taking the tail side and she took head side. As the flavors seeped over his tongue, he felt immediately more relaxed, the delicious taste better than anything he’d ever eaten. “But again, we’d still better get back.” Dawn said, licking her lips. Riverwing and Dawn took off, and soon reached the Sea Cave. '' '' I’m still writing this part so skipping to chapter two Chapter 2: Riverwing heard a faint noise, gradually getting louder. Suddenly, Oceanclaw, who had been on watch, ran into the cave from the tower. “Bluescale!” he shouted, “There’s a Council dragon approaching!” Bluescale appeared from his cave, swiftly reaching Oceanclaw. “Moonwing, Raintail, come with me,” Bluescale ordered. The three dragons quickly walked to the entrance to the river and dove in. Dawn appeared beside Riverwing. “So what is a council dragon? Are we fighting them?” Riverwing asked, taking a bite of his fish. “What? No. Council dragons are at peace with every guild. If we were at war with the Council, all the other guilds would attack us!” “Oh! So what’s the Council?” Riverwing asked, somewhat taken aback by Dawn’s spirited response. “The Council is a group of wise and noble dragons. They help to keep the peace and impose justice upon crimes done by dragons. They live at Council Rock, an inactive volcano.” “Oh. So who is coming right now?” “I’m not sure… It is probably a messenger. The Council hardly ever comes to Guilds themselves.” Dawn replied, a look of confusion clouding her face. Before Riverwing could reply, the three dragons returned, with another dragon Riverwing didn’t recognize. She is tall and sturdy, like most earth dragons. Her hide is made up of dark brown plates, and it looks as if lava flows between them. She has a boxy head, triangular from the top. She has small teeth, but huge, fearsome claws. Her wings have four joints, and her wingskin is dark red. Her eyes are milky caramel, and glow slightly. “Everyone, this is Firekin, a Council guard and messenger. We have been called by the Council to discuss a matter of great importance,” Bluescale said, a serious look in his eyes. By now, all the other dragons had appeared from the dens, and they murmured confusedly. Bluescale spoke again. “I will take two dragons with me. Moonwing,” he motioned to Moonwing, who stood beside him. “And Riverwing.” Dawn’s and Riverwing’s heads shot up. “What? You’re so lucky!” She hissed. Riverwing shot her a look of confusion. Still confused, Riverwing walked up beside Moonwing. “Bluescale, why are you taking him? He only just joined!” Oceanclaw asked, clearly agitated; his tail lashed. “I feel it will be a good experience for him, as he did, as you state, just join. Now let’s go, we are wasting time here.” With that, he plunged through the tunnel to the river, the chosen dragons following. As they plunged into the water, Riverwing became anxious. ''The Council sounds so important! I’ve only just come here! What if I say something wrong?'' Maybe that other dragon (Oceanclaw) was right. He was so distracted by his thoughts he almost forgot to surface. '' “Worried about meeting the Council?” Moonwing asked as Riverwing came beside him. “Y-yes, how did you know?” Riverwing asked. “I was too… It’ll be fine. Just stick with me,” Moonwing said, gazing fondly at Riverwing. Ahead of them was a clear blue sky, save for two or three big clouds. The river broke off in several segments, and they continued following the river flowing from the valley until it connected with the main, bigger river. As they travelled along Valley River, Riverwing could see trees dotting the land on either side, though not thickly. He could also see some rabbits on the open plains that surrounded the river. “Do we catch those?” Riverwing asked, glancing at the rabbits. “No, but…” Moonwing didn’t finish as he suddenly dived down towards the water. He emerged moments later, an enormous fish in his mouth. “Wow!” Riverwing breathed. “That’s what we catch,” Moonwing said, swallowing his kill. Riverwing noticed a dark shadow in the water and dove. As he plunged in, the shadow darted away, but Riverwing’s claws were too fast. He surfaced, quickly eating his fish. They reached a large lake, several rivers flowing into it, and up ahead, Riverwing could see a large brown mountain, smoke spilling out of the top. “That is Council Rock. The Council members, along with the guards,” Firekin flashed them a glance, “live in there,” Moonwing explained. They soon reached the end of the river, ending in a small pool. The ground then turned brown and sooty underfoot, and the mountain loomed above. They went around so that the dragons’ backs were to the dunes. In front of them was Council Rock. The volcano had an entrance in the middle, with a pillar on either side. On top of each pillar is a small dragon statue, looking almost exactly like Firekin. Above the entrance is a carving of an erupting volcano. To the left of them they saw dragons approaching, gray against the bright blue sky. One looked like Firekin, and he assumed it was a Council Guard. As they got closer, Riverwing could see their heavy, thick bodies and large wings. They have rectangular gray heads, curving inward at the end. With curving black horns at the back, they looked frightening to Riverwing. Their jaws are rectangular, and a dark gray, as are the bottom parts of their neck, stomach and tail. One dragon stood out; he looked older and stronger, and taller than the other three dragons. His eyes are red, glowing slightly. “Who-“ Riverwing began. “Hello, Stonehorn,” Bluescale greeted him formally. “Hello, Bluescale,” Stonehorn replied. “I see you have a new dragon with you..?” “Ah yes, this is Riverwing. We found him as a hatchling, drowning in Raging River,” Bluescale replied. “Riverwing, this is Stonehorn, leader of the Mountain Guild.” Stonehorn nodded slightly. “These are Rockwing, Hammertail, and Lavahorn, a Council Guard.” “So you were called as well… I hope it’s nothing too serious…” Bluescale said. “Either way, we must prepare for the worst.” Stonehorn said grimly. “Well, we might as well go in.” Bluescale said, and they both walked in, the two Council Guards taking the rear. As they entered, Riverwing could see that the inside of the volcano was almost perfectly circular. In the middle was a large, circular table, with 10 seats. At the far end of the table from the entrance sat five dragons, closer together than the other two who sat beside them. “Those five sitting close together are the Council. All Council dragons are lava dragons, the last remaining of their kind. Lava dragons live for a thousand years, much longer than you and me. The guards, like Firekin and Firehorn, are fire dragons.” “Oh! So who are the other two?” Riverwing asked, confused. “Those are two other leaders, Sandscale, Sand Guild leader, and Cloudwing, Cloud Guild leader.” Cloudwing is a lithe, powerful white dragon. His long wings have three fingers, his outer wingskin white, while his inner wingskin gold. Lines of light blue run from his neck to his tailtip. His head is long and smooth, his eyes and horns gold. Sandscale, sitting to the left of the entrance, is large like the mountain dragons, but much smoother along her legs and head. Her scales are the color of sand, allowing her to blend in perfectly with the desert. Her wings have three joints, with pale wingskin. She has four horns protruding from the back of her head, two on each side. Her eyes are yellow. “Hello, Bluescale,” Sandscale said. She eyed Stonehorn stiffly, not saying anything. He glared back. “Hello, Sandscale. Still not speaking?” Bluescale asked, noticing the hostility between Stonehorn and Sandscale. “''Why would I, when ''he ''broke one of my dragon’s horns? You know they don’t grow back!” Sandscale said. “We were training, and it was an accident.” Stonehorn replied, looking angry. “Training? You were throwing rocks! What kind of training is that?” Sandscale spat. '' '' “Well, what were your dragons doing so close to our mountain range?” Stonehorn growled. “Hunting. I guess you’ve never heard of it; you’re too busy chucking rocks!” '' ''“Ah, I see. Well, this is a peaceful meeting, so don’t fight.” Bluescale interrupted, taking a seat next to Sandscale. Stonehorn sat beside Cloudwing. “Hello, Stonehorn,” Cloudwing said. “I hope you didn’t mind Swifttail racing through your mountains. If it is any consolation, he was justly punished when I found out,” “Hello, Cloudwing,” Stonehorn replied. “No, I don’t mind. Young dragons will be as they are. Accidents happen, as you know,” he added, with a meaningful glare at Sandscale. Riverwing watched all this silently, not knowing what to do. “Follow me,” Moonwing whispered, walking toward Bluescale’s seat. He sat about half a wingspan behind him, practically against the wall, motioning for Riverwing to do the same. As he moved toward Moonwing, he noticed each pair of dragons from each Guild had already done this. Riverwing looked at the council dragons, which looked like Firekin, only bigger and stronger. Going clockwise, the first is Obsidian, a large dragon with plates like Firekin’s, but a darker brown. He has three wing joints, though his wings are folded, as are everyone’s. His head is boxy and a dark brown, with glowing yellow eyes. From his jaw to his chest are spines, dark red webskin running between them. The second, The third, and leader, is Lavascale, a large dragon with brown plates, lava running between, like the others, as are his head and wings, excluding his eyes, which are the color of lava. Riverwing turned his head as he heard a sound; Stonehorn and Sandscale were fighting again. As their bickering grew louder, one voice rose above the rest: “Enough! Now is not the time!” Obsidianwing yelled. “While you sit here arguing, dragons could be dying!” “What? Obsidianwing, what do you mean?” Stonehorn asked, his fight with Sandscale immediately forgotten. “Shadowfury, leader of Nightguild. She has been gathering her forces, and kidnapping dragons one by one.” Lavascale said. “Ripple…” Bluescale murmured softly, his claws trembling. Riverwing cast a glance at Moonwing. He gave him a look that said, ‘later.’ Judging by the looks on the leaders’ faces, Riverwing assumed they had all lost dragons. “We are all affected by this,” Lavascale said. “And that is why we called you here: to ask you to join forces with us to defeat Shadowfury.” “I just don’t see how this concerns Cloud Guild. Cloudscale said. “We are perfectly safe among the clouds. Shadowfury would never want our territory, nor can she use it.” “She doesn’t want your territory; she wants ''you. She won’t take any chances,” said Firetail. “Besides, surely you as well have lost dragons.” She said, glancing around the room. Cloudwing fell silent, pondering this. Oakwing, Forest Guild’s leader, spoke up: “If she harms one leaf in our forest, she will pay,” he growled. “So does this mean you shall help us?” asked Obsidianwing. “For now, no. if peace is possible, then I shall seek for peace; I believe it is still possible to end this before it results in death. “There will be no peace, no chance of peace, if Shadowfury gets her way. Please, Oakwing, reconsider,” begged Obsidianwing. “Well I for one won’t stand by and watch my dragons get kidnapped. Better to fight with you now than to fight alone later,” Sandwing said. “Council, I shall join you.” Stonehorn snorted. “I bet you’d leave me for dead if Shadowfury attacked me. All because of an accident. Huh.” At this, Sandwing’s spines bristled, her tails lashing angrily. “Stonehorn, Sandwing, enough. Put this quarrel behind you. We have a big enough problem already without you fighting each other,” Bluescale said firmly. “As for River Guild, we shall join.” “Thank you, Sandwing, and you, Bluescale. We greatly appreciate your help,” Lavascale said. Chapter 3 POV: Nightclaw, some random Night dragon. He hesitated, wondering if this was a bad idea. Shadowfury had a tendency to take out her rage on the nearest Night dragon when angered, albeit subconsciously; she seemed unable to forget their abandonment to her kin so long ago. But then again, who would, considering it had wiped out all but two Shadow dragon families? But he had to. Rage or not, Shadowfury had to be told of the growing danger; it was becoming too real, coming too close. He emerged from Deadbranch Forest, shaking off the twigs that still clung to his wings and scales. He hurried out of the dip towards the steps farther along the rock wall in front of him that led to Shadowfury’s stronghold. The dark clouds overhead threatened to rain, and he could not let his scroll get wet. He walked up the stone steps, passing the pairs of fiery basins lining the stairs, glad to get his claws out of the peaty ground. The fortress was glorious. Forty wingspans long, and eight tall, towers poke out of the corners, as well as to either side of the tall, ornate doors. Flying buttresses dot the walls, and windows have long, tattered flags hanging out. It is dark gray, edging on black, and decorated with dark purple splotches arranged to look like dragons. In one of the windows on both of the towers to either side of the gate, a guard sat, waiting, inside. “Hello, Nightclaw. Another message for Shadowfury?” she asked, sounding friendly. “Hi, Silverscale. Apparently the message is quite important, so I want to get there before it rains.” Nightclaw replied. Silverscale pulled a lever inside the tower, and the doors swung outward, although not far enough to hit Nightclaw. “Thanks.” He said as he hurried in. The road forked in three up ahead, two paths to the left or right, and one down the middle. Nightclaw took the middle, as it is the quickest way to Shadowfury’s stronghold. Dark homes with tattered drapes and worn bricks line each street, with the occasional armory. As Nightclaw continued toward the center of the fortress, where Shadowfury’s stronghold is located, he spotted the market, with its enticing food stalls, furniture, and numerous random items. The market surrounds the front wall of Shadowfury’s stronghold, as it is one of the best places to sell items to high-ranking dragons. The market happens only once a month, for three days. I should buy Mother something special. ''Nightclaw thought. ''I will do it on my way back. I still have a few coins left. As he walked he heard the yelling and bartering of stall owners and buyers alike. Suddenly, he felt a raindrop spatter on one of his folded wings. Oh no! I need to get to the stronghold before my scroll gets wet! He sped up, dodging browsing dragons. Wings whipped his face, tails tripped him, yet he ran on, determined to get this vital scroll to the queen. Eventually, Nightclaw was at the steps leading up to Shadowfury’s fortress, positioned on a hill. By now, it was raining steadily, and Nightclaw had tucked his scroll under his wing to keep it dry. As he ran up the stairs, he almost slipped on the wet steps. The fortress stands ten wingspans long, four tall. Four towers sit on each corner of the great stone building. Dark purple banners fly, ripped and scratched, on the walls. A balcony juts out of the second of three levels, directly above the dark oak gate. Two Night dragons sit, ever vigilant, watching him proceed toward them. He stepped up to them; they gave him quizzical looks, as if wondering what a small dragon was doing daring to even step near the fortress. They must be different guards… I don’t recognize either of them. “I am Nightclaw, here to see Shadowfury about a matter of grave importance,” Nightclaw said. “Here, I have my pass.” He said, handing him a stone smaller than his hand. It was his Messenger’s Pass, a stone granting him access to places like Shadowfury’s fortress. “All right. Chaintail, escort Nightclaw here to Shadowfury’s throne room.” one of the guards said. Soon the doors opened, and a large, black Night dragon stepped out. Her tail, unusually gray, seemed to twitch in annoyance. “Follow me. And don’t even think about touching anything.” Chaintail snarled. Nightclaw obeyed, and they walking inside. Pillars line the hallway, doors in between. The signs on them had unknown symbols, although that may be because Nightclaw doesn’t know how to read that well. Chaintail led him down the hall to a flight of stairs ascending left and right. She chose the left. They emerged in AN AREA I’LL DESCRIBE LATER Shadowfury sat in her deerskin-and-obsidian throne, speaking with WhateverhisnameisIforgotohwell, the second in command. Shadowfury’s head is small but menacing, and Nightclaw still struggles to understand how such a small head can have so much hate in one look. Her eyes are a bright red, and her head is black, with purple spines running down from the top of her head to her tailtip. From the top, her head looks like a deep v, with smaller purple spines running down the length of the v. Her body is strong and muscly, and pure black. Her wings have four fingers, as do most Shadow dragons. Dark red wingskin, with spots of black, lines the spines under her neck. Under her neck, stomach and tail, are dark red scales. ' '“Ah, Nightclaw, what news do you bring me today?” Shadowfury said, sounding uncharacteristically nice. Nightclaw undid the string around his neck, and then gave the scroll to Shadowfury. He watched as her face hardened, malice clouding her gaze. “The Council.” ''She said, the hate easily noticeable in her venom-filled snarl. “How dare they intrude on our operations?” She whipped her head to glare at Nightclaw, causing her amethyst necklace to swing. He flinched, not sure how to respond to this. “I’ll kill them if they set one foot in our territory.” Shadowscale snarled from his position beside Shadowfury. “No, no. We must appear peaceful, for then, when their guard is down, and then shall we strike.” Shadowfury growled, fiddling with the scroll in her amethyst-laden claws. Nightclaw glanced at Shadowscale, and saw again the broad, muscly shoulders, and thick neck covered in spikes, as all Shadow dragons are. His head, like Shadowfury’s, looks like a deep v from the top, with spikes on top. His whole body is black, excepting under his neck, stomach and tail, which have dark red scales. Curving, dark red horns protrude from his head. His eyes are dark red as well, as are his claws. His wings have four fingers, and the top wingskin is black, while the bottom is dark red. His legs are long and thick, spikes like armor lining them. Under his neck, dark red wingskin stretches between small spines. His tail has spikes as well, stretching the length of it. Nightclaw stared, not entirely sure what to do. He didn’t even know what the scroll said. (TIP: It said, ''I overheard one of those infernal Council guards talking about how the Council has called a meeting of all the Guilds, (except us, of course. :( ) about how we seem to be plotting something. We must put a stop to this before the Guilds rally against us. ENSURE THE NIGHT DRAGONS ARE LOYAL IF IT COMES TO WAR.) “Is that all?” inquired Shadowfury. “Yes, Your Majesty.” Nightclaw said, hurrying out. Chaintail snarled, following. He ran back down the stairs, and out the dark door. Now I can go to the market, Nightclaw thought as he flew down from the hill. The enticing smells again immersed him in a world of flavor. He wandered from stall to stall, the rain splattering his scales and seeping into his skin. Finally he found what he was looking for: a silver bracelet with a sapphire embedded in the middle. Nightclaw had been saving for ages for this; he was so relieved it hadn’t been sold yet. “Name! I’d like to buy the sapphire necklace, please.” Nightclaw said to the elderly dragon who worked the stand. Other necklaces, bracelets, and rings hung from sticks in the stand, along with home-baked pies. “Alright, here you go,” she said, handing the bracelet to him. “Five silver ones.” Nightclaw reached into the bag on his left forearm, producing his only five silver coins. After thanking Whatshername, he tucked the bracelet into his bag and took off towards his home, in the cliffs in front of the fortress. “Mother, I’m back.” He called, closing the front door behind him. The cave stretched in front of him, half a wingspan long. A table sat in the middle of the cave, with four chairs positioned around it. Nightclaw walked into the kitchen, where his mother was cooking dinner. “Hi, Nightclaw.” She said, hugging him, her black scales gleaming. “Mother, I got something for you from the market.” Before she could speak, he produced the sapphire bracelet. “Oh, Nightclaw, it’s beautiful!” she said, her green eyes sparkling. “Thank you.” He smiled, and, after eating a deer for dinner, went to his room. He walked over to his desk and lit his lamp. His wooden Shadow dragon sat, waiting to be whittled to completion. Nightclaw picked up his knife and sat down in his chair, then began to carve the face, one of the few parts unfinished. After what seemed like minutes, although it was in fact an hour, he set down the finished dragon and stretched his sore limbs.Picking it up again, he took it to a shelf on the wall opposite the desk, to the left of the entrance. He gently put it beside an angry Sand dragon, both in a fighting position. He proudly gazed at his wooden dragon statues, each one made with love and care. He had one dragon from each Guild, whittled from drawings he had seen. He went back to his desk and put his bag on the chair. Nightclaw then went to bed, his last thought before drifting into sleep how lucky he was. Chapter 4 POV: Nightclaw Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete) Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)